<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>New Day Rising: An Experiment/Preview by JDLehane</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23998867">New Day Rising: An Experiment/Preview</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDLehane/pseuds/JDLehane'>JDLehane</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 5, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action, Action/Adventure, Austin - Freeform, Crime, Experiment, F/M, Gen, Husker Du, M/M, Music, Mystery, New Day Rising, Other, Persona 5 Spoilers, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Post-Canon, Preview, Spoilers for Persona 5 Royal, Spoilers for Royal, Texas, cosmic horror, ramble</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 21:41:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,758</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23998867</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JDLehane/pseuds/JDLehane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren Amamiya and Yuuki Mishima came to Austin, Texas to spend a semester abroad.</p>
<p>Ren wanted to see some of the world, maybe get a little perspective on how he wanted to live. Mishima planned to study documentary filmmaking.</p>
<p>Ren didn't expect to revive the Phantom Thieves. Mishima didn't expect to JOIN the Phantom Thieves. But, from the edge of reality to the corner of North Lamar Boulevard, something sinister is afoot. Someone somewhere is building artificial Personas, and gifting them to terrible people.</p>
<p>In the wake of their first battle, Ren and Mishima take a moment to process. And get coffee.</p>
<p>Love is showered upon the seminal Minnesotan rock band Hüsker Dü.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is me, tinkering with a few ideas that I'd like to work more with. Consider it a preview.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Mishima Yuuki/OC, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>New Day Rising: An Experiment/Preview</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Howdy, y'all!</p>
<p>It has literally been years since I've published any of my fan work, but I fell hard for PERSONA 5 ROYAL. It seems to have lodged itself in my head. Thus, I'm writing. This is a fragment of a larger idea that I'm kicking around, one that I'll be building on. For the moment though, I just wanted to get something out there. Let's call this a preview of things to come.</p>
<p>More notes will follow in the post-script.</p>
<p>PERSONA 5 and all associated characters/scenarios are the property of ATLUS.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>AUSTIN, TEXAS</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When his phone pinged, Ren Amamiya took the time to pour himself the morning’s first cup of coffee before responding. Fresh-ground beans. Two hands on the French press – one gripping the handle, one holding down the plunger. He poured quickly but steadily. It was his ritual, born from his adoptive dad Sojiro Sakura’s love and the practical requirements of being an exchange student on a different continent. And after three sleepless nights and a battle to the near-death, Ren welcomed its shape and feel. He took a long, slow drink and savored its taste. Back on the ground again, he looked down at his phone and read the text.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuuki. Asking if they could talk about “everything.” Three years ago, that would have been classic Yuuki Mishima – sincere, mostly well-meaning flailing that would frequently trip into obnoxiousness. Now, though, “everything” was about as good a word as any for what his friend had been living through.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Sure. Buzzmill?” Ren texted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s great! See you in 20 minutes!” Yuuki wrote back. Ren sighed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Are you ok if it’s 30? I want to finish my coffee.” Yes, the Buzz Mill was a coffee shop. And even by Sojiro’s standards, its coffee was good. But his coffee was <em>his coffee</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They have coffee there but ok! I’ll brush my teeth. See you soon!” Ren sighed again, took another long drink, and was glad that it was Saturday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He finished his coffee, cleaned out the grinder and French press, and poured himself a water bottle. One of the first lessons he and Yuuki had learned about life in Austin, Texas? Never go anywhere without a water bottle. Ever.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A few minutes of dressing and gathering up his wallet and keys later, Ren stepped out the front door of his apartment. The Buzz Mill was close enough to walk, and it would feel good to move outside of a fight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-30-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Yuuki Mishima saw Ren Amamiya sipping a tall coffee on the Buzz Mill’s deck, he couldn’t help being relieved. Even now, years into their friendship. Even now that he himself was a Phantom Thief. Even now that they had fought side by side against that full-blown no-bullshit <em>bastard</em> CookedOrthus. There was always that splinter in his ear, that scream. <em>YOU’RE EMPTY YUUKI MISHIMA! YOU’RE A PAPER DOLL PERSON AND YOU WERE PUT ON EARTH TO BE STEPPED ON! YOU’RE NOTHING!</em> Sometimes it sounded like Kamoshida. Sometimes it sounded like himself. And at its worst, without fail, it dyed everything grey.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He knew what the scream was now. And knowing that, getting help to know that, he had learned to turn it down. It was not gone, but it was a lot quieter. He’d turned its rumble tinny. And he could hear so much more, see so much more. But the relief was there all the same. Ren Amamiya was his friend.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yo. Yuuki,” Ren said, lackadaisically waving hello. “You getting anything?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, good morning! Yeah, I’ll grab a coffee.” Yuuki said. Ren nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Right, I’ll get us a table, and we can talk.” Ren smiled, cool even half-awake.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuuki grinned back at him, big and broad. Even with all of <em>everything</em> felt like he could split a shooting star in half. He dismounted his bicycle and walked it towards the Buzz Mill’s rack.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-30-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, yeah,” Yuuki said, “We really did that?” He was all but vibrating in his seat, and Ren knew that it wasn’t the coffee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“We really did. You, me, Futaba, Del Dulca-san and Westlake,” he said, nodding. Yuuki looked ready to jump on the table and start dancing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I mean, I know it happened, I was there and hell, I did it. But man Ren, I just… I just want to scream about it to the world.” Yuuki said. Ren chuckled.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I get it, and you should reach out to Ryuji. He <em>definitely</em> gets it.” Ren was still smiling, but Yuuki caught something on the edges of it. Firmness.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seriously though, it’s like Westlake said,” Ren dropped his voice low and scratched it up, bringing it close to the old pro thief’s, “‘The ice is melting, but it hasn’t <em>melted</em>.’”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“‘So play it cool and let it fucking melt.’ Yeah, I know, I know,” Yuuki said. “Now we’ve gotta wait for proof that it worked, right?” To this, Ren shrugged.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Theoretically, yeah. But, bear in mind, what we did last night? A lot of that was new to me. Even by my standards, <em>that was weird</em>. Especially at the end.” Yuuki frowned and looked around. The sun was just starting hint at rising. He and Ren were alone in the Buzz Mill’s courtyard. He frowned and looked into his coffee.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I know that my saying this is completely the opposite of what you just said to do, but… YEAH. You said that you’ve fought other Pesona users before. But CookedOrthos… Murphy, his didn’t act the way any of ours do.”  Ren made a face at Yuuki but nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No, it didn’t. It reminded me of Dr. Maruki’s a bit, but only to a point. And that’s what worries me.” Ren tented his hands and pressed his face into them. Yuuki frowned.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Because of what he said about getting his powers as proof that he was right?” Ren nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Exactly. I don’t think he got his Persona the way we did. I think someone gave it to him.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“But that would mean…. Yikes,” Yuuki said. “What are we going to do?”</p>
<p>“Well, first, this,” Ren said. He picked up his coffee and drained it. He set the empty cup down, satisfied. When he looked up, Yuuki recognized his smile. It was Joker’s smile. The “Here’s what’s going to happen” smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeeessss, that’s good. Ok, so at the moment, we need to make Westlake happy and let the ice melt. Try to get some sleep, then call Leonardo and take him out on a date. He wanted to take you dancing, right? Go dancing. We’ve been running around in the mindscape of a seriously warped person. Get something real in your system.” Yuuki nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I can definitely do that. What about you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll touch base with Del Duca-san and Westlake; see how they’re doing. There’s something I want to try that might get us some answers about Murphy. I’ve got a phone date with Makoto tonight for me and tomorrow for her. And at some point, theoretically, I’ll sleep.” At this, Yuuki sighed. He stood up and screwed up all the gravitas he could.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ren.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yuuki?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m saying this as your friend, your teammate, and your former PR guy. You need to sleep as much as I do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yes, Morgana.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Seriously man! Don’t run yourself ragged making sure we aren’t running ourselves ragged. Please.” Three years ago, Yuuki would not have been able to say this, let alone say it firmly. He had come a long way. Ren looked at him for a moment, then smiled, warmer than his Joker smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, since you insist, ok, yeah. I’ll get some real sleep too.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Good. Thank you.” Yuuki said, relieved.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You’re good to get home?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah. You?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’ll be a good walk,” Ren said. He stood, stretched, picked up his empty cup and offered Yuuki a fist bump. “Let me know when you get home, and I’ll call you later today.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuuki returned the fist bump. “Right! Have a good walk home!”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Ride safe,” Ren said, as he walked toward the street. He turned and gave Yuuki a quick wave. His friend, his big-hearted, heroic mess of a friend, returned it enthusiastically.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-30-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Ren sat on his porch, watching the sunrise and listening to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YTJ807KK7I">title song</a> on Hüsker Dü’s <em>New Day Rising</em> on the headphones Futaba had given him as a study abroad present. Westlake had introduced him to the Minnesotan rockers, and Ren had fallen hard and fast for their melody, their speed, and their rage.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>NEW DAY RISING</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This could be another ritual, he thought. Not one for every day, but one for specific moments. Instances where he needed to connect to the world and give himself some space at the same time. To create a space through sound and his own physical presence that was exactly what he needed it to be for as long as he needed it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>NEW DAY RISING</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>When the sun was fully up, then he would be ready. Ready to try something he didn’t know for certain would work. When he had last met with Igor and Lavenza, it had been so they could say farewell. But if anyone would have answers to his questions about how and why a disgraced internet nerd comedian would be given a Persona that wasn’t his own it would be them. So Ren had decided to gamble a stamp, as it was, and try to contact them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>NEW DAY RISING</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sun had risen. “New Day Rising” hit its raucous climax and trailed off into a brief moment of silence. Ren stood, took a deep breath, and headed back inside. The Velvet Room was waiting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>ELSEWHERE</strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Victoria ran her hands across a fresh mound of the clay that lived in the outer darkness of humanity’s collective mindscape. She did not know how she was feeling. Someone had destroyed Antaeus. She hadn’t been there to witness it, but she had felt her art crumble, and heard poor Mr. Murphy’s glorious wrath fade back into the fuzz.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She had worked long and hard to craft Antaeus, to give form to a will as singular as Mr. Murphy’s. True, her later work was frankly better in terms of the skill with which she had made it, but Victoria would never be ashamed of a Persona as fine as the great wrestler.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She supposed she was angry. Angry that her work had been trampled upon, and angry that Mr. Murphy had not proved to be what she <em>knew</em> he could have been. It was vandalism of the highest order. But she was also… curious? What sort of person or people would be capable of destroying one of her Personas? Certainly, they must have Personas of their own, but they would have had to have come by them on their own. By random chance, even. Why were they?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yes, Victoria realized. She <em>was</em> curious. Perhaps she should dig into her costume chest and go for a walk. Perhaps she would be able to learn something of the vandals. And perhaps she would find someone else worthy of her gift. After all, there was always someone extraordinary somewhere.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, your thoughts?</p>
<p>I've got a pretty good idea of where this will go and how. The tricks now are to get it laid out and get it written. And at some point, I'll need a title that I haven't swiped from my favorite song by one of my favorite bands. : p</p>
<p>I'm not entirely sure if using "New Day Rising's" lyrics to break up Ren's last section here works entirely, but hey, this is an experiment.</p>
<p>SOME QUICK CHARACTER NOTES:</p>
<p>- Given the way ROYAL ends and Ren's experiences throughout the game, I'm wondering if he would ever be able to settle down. "Wandering do-gooder" may not be the most glamorous of professions, but I can see it being one where Ren might find some genuine peace and purpose. That being said, I want to figure out what he's currently driven to study.</p>
<p>- For whatever reason, I am deeply amused by the idea of Mishima joining the French Foreign Legion and/or becoming a John le Carré-style spy. I may have to do something with that. I'm figuring out who I want his Persona to be, although I can say that he's the navigator for this incarnation of the thieves.</p>
<p>-Westlake, one of the OCs mentioned repeatedly here, is a professional thief. He's amiable, thoughtful, unrepentantly criminal, and a fairly decent person, all things told. His Persona is based on the popular conception of John Dillinger. Westlake is an alias, taken from the great crime writer Donald Westlake (check out his FOREVER AND A DEATH). I started out hearing Al Pacino's voice for him, but it's metamorphosed into George Clooney circa OUT OF SIGHT.</p>
<p>-Del Duca, the other OC who's joined the Thieves, is a classmate of Ren and Mishima's. I know that she's an artist of some sort (her name comes from comics artist Leila Del Duca). I need to develop her more.</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>